A Fake Social Worker Stole Their 17-Day-Old Baby. He’s Still Missing

In this episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum is joined by investigative journalist Angeline Hartmann, along with Kevin Verville Sr. and Angelica Ramsey. Together, they revisit the unsolved 1980 kidnapping of newborn Kevin Verville Jr., taken at 17 days old from off-base military housing near Camp Pendleton by a woman posing as a social worker. For more than 45 years, the Verville family has never stopped searching for Kevin, who they believe has no idea he was ever taken. They believe someone listening today could recognize Kevin, help identify the woman responsible, and finally reconnect him with his family.

Watch Kevin’s Story from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20MNq579m3k

Highlights:

(0:00) Sheryl McCollum introduces Angeline Hartmann and the podcast investigation that helped identify six-year-old William DaShawn Hamilton

(5:30) The tip that identified a child John Doe more than 20 years after his remains were found

(9:30) How Angeline brought the kidnapping of Kevin Verville Jr. to Sheryl

(11:00) Kevin Verville Sr. and Angelica Ramsey join the podcast to discuss their missing son and brother, Kevin Verville Jr.

(12:00) A woman posing as a social worker gains the family’s trust through a fake assistance program●

(16:15) Kevin Sr. recalls the ruse that got his wife out of the car moments before the suspect drove away with their newborn

(19:00) The distinctive hand tattoo investigators hope someone will recognize

(22:15) Angelica explains why age progression, DNA databases, and public awareness remain critical to finding Kevin Jr.

(26:15) Why renewed public interest in infant abduction cases could help generate new leads

(27:45) Why investigators believe Kevin Jr. was deliberately targeted

(32:15) How the suspect entered the off-base military housing complex without passing the vehicle checkpoint

(34:15) Angeline and Sheryl confront the victim-blaming Kevin Jr. ’s parents faced after

the abduction

(36:15) Cultural background, small-town trust, and how the suspect exploited the family’s openness

(37:15) Why Kevin Jr. may have grown up under another identity without knowing he was abducted

(39:00) How listeners can share Kevin Jr. ’s age progression and help identify both Kevin Jr. and the woman who took him

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Angeline Hartmann is the Director of Communication for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and an award-winning investigative journalist. She previously worked with America’s Most Wanted and hosts the Inside Crime with Angeline Hartmann podcast.

Kevin Verville Sr. is the father of Kevin Verville Jr., abducted at 17 days old from off-base military housing near Camp Pendleton on July 1, 1980.

Angelica Ramsey is the sister of Kevin Verville Jr., born after his abduction. She advocates for his case, sharing his age progression image and searching for the brother she has never met.

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.

Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.

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